Brees absent Monday, preparing for birth of daughter

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) signs autographs following training camp at The Greenbrier. Brees did not attend Monday’s practice and he prepares for his wife to give birth to their first girl.(Photo: Michael Shroyer/USA TODAY Sports)

With roster cuts looming, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was absent on Monday. However, it's safe to assume he wasn't cut.

Saints officials confirmed Brees missed practice to prepare for the birth of his fourth child. His wife Brittany is pregnant and the couple is expecting a girl any day.

"I think everything is going good and hopefully we'll hear something," said Saints coach Sean Payton, who confirmed the news after practice.

After an oblique injury kept him out for two weeks, Brees returned to practice last week and played Saturday, albeit briefly, in the 23-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts. He played just three series and was sharp, leading the Saints on two 80-yard touchdown drives.

In Brees' absence on Monday, though, Luke McCown worked with the first unit and Ryan Griffin with the twos.

Still, Payton said he's no closer to making a final determination on who will backup Brees. What is important, he said, is assuring Griffin gets plenty of work against Baltimore on Thursday.

With the Saints down a signal caller, Payton, who played quarterback in college at Eastern Illinois and with the Chicago Bears during the 1987 strike, showed he still had a little left in the tank.

"When I saw Pierre (Thomas) throwing we needed a little intervention," he said.

Then when asked, "You were playing corner, too?"

He responded, "With safety help."

BACK IN PADS: The Saints look to be getting healthy at just the right time.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks was a full go for the first time since missing several days with an illness last week. He did not play in Indianapolis on Saturday, though he did participate in Thursday's indoor session.

Outside linebacker Victor Butler was limited in his return to the field, donning pads for the first time since suffering an unspecified injury during camp at The Greenbrier a few weeks ago. It's been all the more difficult for the Saints to evaluate Butler, who also missed all of last season with a torn ACL he sustained during the last week of OTAs.

"It's just been real limited because he has been rehabbing and he is finally getting healthy," Payton said. "It has been hard to really measure right now, but we still have time."

The projected starting secondary of Keenan Lewis, Patrick Robinson, Kenny Vaccaro and Jairus Byrd continue to get reps and build familiarity with one another. Champ Bailey, meanwhile, worked his way in sporadically. Vaccaro is the only starter yet to miss practice time due to injury.

"We are getting healthier," Payton said. "In the last week, we were able to get Patrick (Robinson) back, we were able to get Champ (Bailey) back, (Terrance) Frederick is close and is receiving some work and I think depending on how (Trevin) Wade does, so we are getting healthier and that's good.

"We have some good competition with some of the down the line guys too."

BATTLE TO THE END: Training camp comes to an end on Tuesday, but the competition between 15-year veteran kicker Shayne Graham and youngster Derek Dimke probably won't.

"It's one of the ones we discuss every time we're discussing personnel," Payton said. "It's a good thing. But both of them have done well in practice. Tomorrow we'll try to create a competition period again and then give them plenty of work on Thursday.

The coach said no one should infer anything from the extended competition and that a single kick won't decide who ultimately wins the job.

"I think more than anything else, you are just, look, we have every kick charted so we are able to go up there and pull out what's the efficiency, what's the distance, what's the get off, and then weigh all of those things and make a decision," he said.

The Saints are actually quite happy with both kickers.

"I wouldn't confuse the fact that we haven't made a decision with these two with the idea that we are unhappy," Payton said. "I think we are really making sure we are trying to make the right decision, so I don't know if we are looking at outside kickers. I think a team or two is looking to see what we do."